Game board



United States Patent O My invention relates to anew andusefulimprovement in a game board" which'embodies a mechanism for play.

ing a game therewith. The game to be. played resembles the game ofbaseball and a number of separate tokens are positioned upon the gameboard at the places usually occupied by baseball players. The variousbases includ- 2,757,003 Patented July 31, 1956 Fig. 2 is a fragmentarysectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional viewtaken on' line 33 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line4-4 of Fig. 1, with a part broken away.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is asectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 1, Fig. 7 is a fragmentarysectional view slightly enlarged of a pivot structure used in theinvention,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 88 of Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is asectional view taken on line 99 of Fig. 2, Fig. 10 is a sectional viewtaken on line 1010 of Fig. 2.

As shownin the drawings, I use abaseboard having sidewalls 16 and 17 attwo of the edges of the baseboard, these sidewalls, extending the fulllength of the baseboard. Projecting from the sidewall 16 is a sidewall18 ing home plate and the pitchers box are indicated by proper indicia.

The game is to be played by two persons. On the board there is provideda tube extending frombehind home plate past the pitchers box and thendoubled upon itself to return toward the pitchers box so that a marbleor other spherical object placed in the tube and permitted to roll tothe turned back portion will issue from the tube at approximately thepitchers box with sufficient momentum to carry the sphere past thestation of the home plate. This tube is rotatable on a vertical axis andalso is rockable on a horizontal axis. One person would manipulate thetube and the other would endeavour to strike the sphere with a smallbat.

The game board is provided with side boards and the various sectionsthereof are marked with indicia indicating certain values in a baseballgame, such as a home run, a two-base hit, an out, a foul ball or thelike. The person manipulating the tube can change the velocity of travelof the sphere. Elevating the entry end 'of the tube will also elevatethe end from which the sphere emerges so that the sphere may bepropelled toward home plate partially in the air and partially rolling,or it may be propelled simply by rolling. By swinging the tube on thevertical axis, the path of travel of the sphere from point of emergencefrom the tube toward the home plate may be varied, so that the spheremay pass centrally over the home plate or over merely the edge thereofor in a line to entirely miss the home plate. The manipulator of thetube by changing the speed of travel of the sphere, and changing thedirection of travel, may thus bafile the other player who is using thebat to strike the sphere.

When the sphere is struck and driven out of the infield of the baseballdiamond into the outfield, the batter will be credited with the creditshown on the section of the abutment board toward which the sphere isdriven.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a game of this classwhich will be easily operated and possessed of considerable appeal.Another object of the invention is the provision in a game of this classof a tube which may be swung on a vertical axis and also rocked on ahorizontal axis. Another object of the invention is the provision of agame of this class which may be easily and quickly assembled ordisassembled.

Other objects Will appear hereinafter.

It is recognized that various modifications and changes may be made inthe detail of structure illustrated without departing from the inventionand it is intended that the present disclosure shall be considered to bebut the preferred embodiment.

Forming a part of this application are drawings in which:

which terminates short of the length of the baseboard at that side.Asidewall 19 projects upwardly from the .base- :board along one side andextends from the sidewall ,17 but terminates short of the edge of thebaseboard on which mounted. There is thus provided an open space whereinsidewalls are present. Projecting upwardly from the baseboard is a pairof standards 20 and 21 over each of which is slipped a sleeve 22 formedon opposite ends of a strip 23 of fabric.

Displayed on the face of the baseboard 15 is an outline 24 outlining abaseball diamond, and the bases are indicated by the square 25 which isdisplayed on the face of the baseboard 15. The homeplate 26 is alsodisplayed. Used with the game is a plurality of tokens 27, these tokensbeing preferably formed in the image'of a ball player and looselypositioned on the face of the baseboard 15 at the positions usuallyoccupied by the players playing a ball game.

Each of the Sideboards is divided into a plurality of sections 28 and onthese sections is displayed indicia indicating various features andplays present in a ball game.

Projecting upwardly from the base 15 and positioned outwardly from thepitchers box 29A is a stud 29. Swivelly mounted on this stud 29 is asleeve 30 having a bracket arm 31 projecting outwardly therefrom. The

sleeve 30 may rotate on a vertical axis on the stud 29. Pivotallyconnected to the bracket 31 by means of a pin 32 is an arm 33 which issecured to and projected outwardly from the lower end of the bight 34 ofa tubular U -shaped member. The shorter leg 35 extends forwardly towardthe homeplate 26, and the longer leg 36 is elevated to extend rearwardlyof the homeplate 26. This longer leg, adjacent its end, is cut away toprovide a trough-shaped portion 37. This longer leg also rests on aU-shaped support 38 projecting upwardly fromthe base 15.

The game is usually played with two persons. One of the players isprovided with a small bat approximately 8 or 10 inches long. The otherplayer manipulates the U-shaped member. A spherical body 39 is depositedin the trough-shaped portion 37 and the long leg slightly tilted so thatthis sphere, which may be a small marble, travels downwardly through thelong end of the tube and discharges from the open end of the short leg35, so as to roll toward the homeplate 26. The speed of travel may ofcourse be regulated depending upon the amount of tilt of the longer leg.The party manipulating the longer leg may so elevate this longer legthat the marble or sphere 39, when discharged from the short leg 35,will travel toward the homeplate free of contact with the baseboard 15.By swinging the longer leg 36 on the pivot 29, the path of travel of themarble or sphere 39 may 1 that section of the wall which would indicatea homerun or a three-base hit.

Experience has shown that the game is very attractive and entertaining,and that the person manipulating the elevation and the swinging of theU-shaped member may acquire considerable skill as to the path of travelof the sphere or marble 39. The sleeve 30 is loosely positioned over thestud 29. When desired the sleeve 30 may be lifted from the stud 29 sothat the U-shaped member may be laid flat on the base 15. The stud 29 isinserted in an opening formed in the baseboard and this stud 29 maylikewise be lifted clear of an opening in the board so that when it isdesired to store the structure a minimum of space may be required.

What I claim is. 1. A device of the class described, comprising: a gameboard having displayed on its upper face a baseball diamond includingthe various bases of a baseball diamond, home plate, and the pitchersbox; a U-shaped tube mounted on said board and being disposed in asubstantially vertical plane and having one leg longer than the other;means connecting the shorter leg to said board for rockable movementabove said board on a horizontal axis perpendicular to the plane of saidU-shaped tube and swingable on a vertical axis with the end of saidshorter leg terminating adjacent the pitchers box and faced toward homeplate; and side Walls on the edges of said board projecting above theupper face of said board.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1, including a U'shapedsupporting member projecting upwardly from the upper face of said boardand loosely supporting the longer leg of said tube on the bight portionthereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,942,429 Jacobs Jan. 9, 1934 2,618,483 Chiodo NOV. 18, 1952 FOREIGNPATENTS 166,341 Austria 1950

